No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf by Bradley Peniston with a foreword by Adm. (ret.) William J. Crowe

Lt. (j.g.) Robert Chambers' photos

[Up to Timeline] [Back to Mine Strike]

Lt. (j.g.) Robert Chambers was the electronic readiness officer aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) during its first deployment to the Persian Gulf. After the ship hit an Iranian mine on 14 April 1988, he helped tend to the ship's injured during the damage-control effort.

Photos by Robert Chambers

Ship's captain: Cmdr. Paul X. Rinn of the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoShip's captain: Cmdr. Paul X. Rinn.

Wardroom of the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1987.

arrow up to photoShip's officers on the forecastle in 1987. Seated: executive officer Lt. Cmdr. William Clark, left, and Rinn.

Water crashes over the <i>Roberts'</i> forecastle as the ship attempts to take on fuel through an underway replenishment in January 1988 in the Mediterranean Sea.

arrow up to photoWater crashes over the Roberts' forecastle as the ship attempts to take on fuel during an underway replenishment in January 1988 in the Mediterranean Sea.

Chambers, Ens. Rob Sobnosky, Lt. Brad Gutcher aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoChambers; Ens. Rob Sobnosky, the ship's combat information center officer; and supply officer Lt. Brad Gutcher in the Persian Gulf.

Chambers stands his first watch as officer of the deck aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoChambers stands his first watch as Roberts' officer of the deck.

Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoMore snapshots of Chambers.

Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. The hole from the mine explosion is revealed as the <i>Roberts</i> stands on blocks in a Dubai dry dock.

arrow up to photoThe hole from the mine explosion is revealed as the Roberts stands on blocks in a Dubai dry dock.

Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoThe mine cracked the starboard side of the Roberts' deckhouse near the helicopter hangars.

Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoThe explosion also put two cracks along the top of the Roberts' deckhouse.

A lifeboat, charred by fire, aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoA lifeboat aboard the Roberts, charred by fire.

Damage in the <i>Roberts'</i> U-shaped passageway aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoDamage in the Roberts' U-shaped passageway.

Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoThe shock of the explosion spilled the contents of these lockers.

Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoDamaged bilge stringers, twisted by the explosion.

Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Photo of and aboard the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 in the Persian Gulf.

arrow up to photoMore engineroom damage.

Photos by Robert Chambers

[Up to Timeline] [Back to Mine Strike]

About The Book

Cover for No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian GulfNo Higher Honor is the first book to detail the extraordinary tale of the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) and the crew's heroic efforts to save the ship after it hit an Iranian mine in 1988. Drawing on years of research and scores of interviews, Bradley Peniston chronicles the origins of the Perry-class frigate; the crew's training; its operations in the Persian Gulf; the U.S. retaliation against Iran, which became the biggest surface battle since World War II; and the complex repairs that returned the ship to duty.

Published by Naval Institute Press, the 275-page book contains 20 photos, several diagrams of the damage, and a muster list of the shipmates aboard the Roberts during its fight for survival.

tracker